wfn.org | NCCCUSA Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

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National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A.
Contact: Wendy McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227

NCC12/23/96   For Immediate Release

NCC SENDS HUMANITARIAN AID TO CUBA IN TIME FOR THREE
KINGS DAY

 NEW YORK, Dec. 23 ---- Just as the three kings
of the Bible traveled far and crossed political
boundaries to deliver their gifts, a National
Council of Churches (NCC) shipment of food and
medicine to Cuba at year's end symbolizes the
Christmas message of compassion in the face of
today's political and practical difficulties.

 A 100,000-ton shipment of canned meats, milk,
antibiotics, hospital supplies, blankets and other
food is due to arrive in Cuba on December 26.  The
shipment will be met by Don R. Augsburg, Director
for Emergency Response, Church World Service and
Witness Unit (CWSW), NCC, and Mrs. Digna de Jesus,
Business Manager for Emergency Response, CWSW/NCC.
This is the largest plane shipment to date and will
arrive in time for the religious holiday that Cubans
celebrate on January 6, Three Kings Day, said the
Rev. Oscar Bolioli, Director of the Latin America
and the Caribbean Office, CWSW/NCC.  "Three Kings
Day is the big holiday for children in Cuba," he explained.

This past year has proven to be an especially
difficult one for U.S. organizations who send
humanitarian aid for hungry and suffering people in
Cuba.  Following the February 24, 1996 downing of
two Cuban-American planes by the Cuban government,
the U.S. Congress closed the air corridor between
Miami and Havana and passed the Helms-Burton law
which brings all policies having to do with Cuba
before the Congress rather than being determined by
Presidential orders.

"Relations between Cuba and the United States
have deteriorated to the worst point since the
missile crisis of 1962," Rev. Bolioli said.  The
immediate effect on organizations like CWSW, he
explained, is that sending humanitarian aid is now
much more difficult and expensive since it must be
done through a third country using two separate
vessels.

"Normally, when we could make a direct flight,
it took one month to prepare a shipment and cost
between $7,000-8,000.  This shipment has taken three
months to prepare and will cost close to $40,000,"
Rev. Bolioli said.  Given these difficulties and
expenses, shipments of food and medicine have been
irregular this year at a time when church
organizations in Cuba are reporting a continued need
for food, medicine and other basic elements in
hospitals, homes for the elderly and schools, Rev.
Bolioli added.

This shipment was made possible by a special
grant from the United Methodist Committee On Relief
which will make up for the added transportation
costs and a large donation of canned meats by the
Mennonites and Brethrens, Rev. Bolioli said.

CWSW/NCC works with the Cuban Council of
Churches, whose representatives oversee the
distribution of the aid and are accountable to CWSW.
Moreover, CWSW "only responds to requests to meet
the most urgent, dramatic food and health needs of
the Cuban people," Rev. Bolioli pointed out.  "We
don't give aid to the Cuban government.  Our
interest is helping to preserve the life of people."

In light of these realities and the
overwhelming need, Rev. Bolioli said CWSW/NCC is
joining with the Jewish and Catholic relief
organizations in calling for the U.S. Congress to
allow direct flights to Cuba for humanitarian aid.
"We are talking about human suffering and human
needs," Rev. Bolioli stressed.

For the first time, the U.S. Treasury
Department has granted the NCC 72 travel licenses
per year to Cuba for official church business.  The
CWSW/NCC license for humanitarian aid has been
renewed by the U.S. Department of Commerce for $2
million for a two-year period.

The NCC is also sending shipments of food to
hungry people in Iraq and North Korea this month, in
keeping with CWSW's "commitment to serve people in
need without regard to political or religious
affiliation," said the Rev. Dr. Rodney Page, deputy
general secretary of the NCC and executive director
of CWSW.  "We hope that the Christmas message of
compassion will light the way for reconciliation and
peace on earth for all of God's children," Dr. Page said.

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